The Dutch boss will leave his current job in the summer and has been strongly linked with the top job at White Hart Lane, with Tim Sherwood feeling the pressure

In demand: Louis van Gaal has a number of suitors (Photo: Shaun Botterill - FIFA)

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Spurs chairman Daniel Levy faces a race against time for Louis van Gaal with Spartak Moscow keen on the Dutchman.

The Russian club want to tempt 62-year-old Van Gaal with a lucrative offer. But the Holland coach is also keen to keep his options open, in case the Manchester United job becomes available this summer.

Van Gaal will leave his post with the Dutch after the World Cup and has been strongly linked with the Tottenham job.

Levy now has a decision to make on the job with Van Gaal in demand elsewhere and Tim Sherwood under pressure from fans following the 4-0 defeat at Liverpool. But Mirror Sport understands that an auction for Van Gaal’s services would rule out a move to White Hart Lane and see Sherwood backed into next season.

Sherwood’s plan to save the club cash by bringing more of the talented academy stars into the first team has struck a chord at thet Lane. The ex-Blackburn skipper has also been credited for rejuvenating striker Emmanuel Adebayor who had been rotting in the reserves under AVB.

Sherwood is still, however, battling a string of problems.

He continues to bypass ­technical director Franco Baldini over ­potential signings and revealed last week that he had approached the chairman directly with a list of transfer targets for the summer.

Inside the dressing room several players, including midfielder Etienne Capoue – signed from Toulouse for £9.5million only last summer – are well aware that they will be shipped out in the summer.

Capoue was close to being sold to Napoli in January with youngster Nabil Bentaleb ahead of him.

Another of the players bought in last summer’s £100million spending spree, Brazil Confederations Cup winner Paulinho, is concerned at not playing more regularly with the World Cup looming.

Jan Vertonghen’s massive dip in form has coincided with interest in the defender from several big clubs with suggestions that the Belgian is keen to get away.

Vertonghen, who has complained of having to play at left-back on several occasions this season, came off injured after 24 minutes of Sunday’s Anfield defeat.

And there is a feeling at Spurs, however, that the dead wood needs to be cleared before Sherwood can begin to impose his own ideas.

Defender Steven Caulker, a product of the north Londoners’ academy, is set to be bought back from Cardiff if the Welsh club go down.

Two other graduates, Midfielders Jake Livermore and Tom Carroll, are set to be recalled from a loan spells at Hull and QPR respectively. And striker Harry Kane is poised for more regular first-team football next term.

Vlad Chiriches is ready to ease Tottenham’s defensive crisis for the Premier League run-in.

The £7million Romanian centre-half is fit after missing the last 13 games with a back problem.